Tuesday 9/16/14

Tuesday’s Recap summarizes the previous evening’s Pizza and Prayer. If you couldn’t join us last night, or if for some strange reason you can’t remember what happened (amnesia?), here’s what you missed:

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:5-6

There was a village in the former Soviet Union that was so poor that every recyclable scrap had legitimate value. Paper, rags, and scrap metal were all used like currency as they had no real resources. One day a motorcycle passing through the village crashed. The regular group of scavengers went out and took whatever they could find at the site, and after they left, a young boy came along. As he was walking, something caught his eye. The scavengers had overlooked a small piece of the rearview mirror which was lying in a ditch by the side of the road. The boy picked it up and cleaned it off, and was immediately excited by the way it reflected light. He put it in his pocket and brought it home, and it became one of his prized possessions. He found great joy in reflecting the sun’s light into dark corners that would otherwise not see the light. He played with his bit of mirror every day, and was always sad when a cloud moved across the sun or the sun set. Without the sun, his mirror couldn’t light up anything.

We are like the little boy’s mirror. We have the ability to bring light to the darkness, but we must remember that our light is a reflection of God’s light just as the mirror’s light was a reflection of the sun’s light. All good things come from God. God may work through an individual, an organization, a natural event, a scientific discovery, or a hundred other intermediaries, but the goodness always comes through God.

That means that if we want have a life blessed with goodness, we need to stay close to God. We cannot reflect God’s light if we are in the darkness.

Sometimes we like the darkness. It lets us hide when we are embarrassed or ashamed. In the darkness, no one can see our flaws. In the darkness no one can see us at all. The light, on the other hand, exposes us. The light puts us (and our flaws) on display for the whole world. It uncovers those parts of us that we would like to remain hidden. Where darkness is gentle, the light can be harsh. You might wonder, “Why would anyone want to be in the light, then?” The answer is that the truth is in the light. If we live in the light, we live in the truth. Plus, God sees us just as well in the dark as He does in the light. He’s willing to forgive us no matter where we are, but if we’re in the darkness, how will we even be able to see when we need forgiveness?

If we want to be good mirrors of God’s light and goodness, we must keep ourselves clean and in the light.

Heavenly Father, Help me to remember that all good things come from you and that I can do good things through you by following the example of Jesus and allowing myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Help me to be a true reflection of Your light by remaining clean and in the light through regular examination of conscience and the sacrament of reconciliation. Amen.